A man in Lahore was fined Rs200,000 and sentenced to six months in prison by a local court on Wednesday for getting married for a second time without taking permission from his first wife.

The man subsequently submitted surety bonds worth Rs50,000 to avoid immediate imprisonment. He also has recourse to challenge his conviction.

Judicial magistrate Jawad Naqvi, who announced the verdict, had been hearing a case filed by petitioner Ayesha Bibi, who said that her husband, Shahzad Saqib, had married for the second time without getting her permission.

"To get married without your first wife's permission is breaking the law," she had argued in her appeal.

She asked that her husband's second marriage be declared illegal by the court.

The magistrate subsequently awarded Saqib six months in prison and a Rs200,000 fine.

The Council of Islamic Ideology has often criticised the existing law, which requires written approval from the first wife if her husband wants to marry a second time.

Opinion

Editorial

Energy inflation
Updated 23 May, 2024

Energy inflation

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots is already tearing apart Pakistan’s social fabric.
Culture of violence
23 May, 2024

Culture of violence

WHILE political differences are part of the democratic process, there can be no justification for such disagreements...
Flooding threats
23 May, 2024

Flooding threats

WITH temperatures in GB and KP forecasted to be four to six degrees higher than normal this week, the threat of...
Bulldozed bill
Updated 22 May, 2024

Bulldozed bill

Where once the party was championing the people and their voices, it is now devising new means to silence them.
Out of the abyss
22 May, 2024

Out of the abyss

ENFORCED disappearances remain a persistent blight on fundamental human rights in the country. Recent exchanges...
Holding Israel accountable
22 May, 2024

Holding Israel accountable

ALTHOUGH the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor wants arrest warrants to be issued for Israel’s prime...